The In-Home Early Listening Program (HELP) is designed to. . .

• Educate families regarding the importance of hearing technology
• Increase families ability to identify auditory behaviors in their child
• Increase families ability to apply the concept of Auditory Developmental Sequences to their child and determine appropriate activities based on child’s developmental levels.
• Increase families’ ability to incorporate auditory stimulation activities in the home setting.
• Increase families’ awareness and ability to observe auditory responses in their child through daily routine. 
• Increase families understanding of the components of effective Auditory Oral Programming. 
• Educate families regarding Auditory Developmental Sequences

How?
This program will be designed to provide specific training and guidance for parents in the area of auditory development, by specially trained mentors, in order to support the development of effective language and speech skills. Mentors will be located statewide and will make connections with local Birth-3 and educational agencies to ensure consistency across the child’s environments. A curriculum will be used with all families, and pre and post test measures will be established

Who is eligible for the In-Home Early Listening Program (HELP)?
Families are eligible for this unique program if . . . 

• their child is deaf or hard of hearing, ages birth up to 6 years of age. 
• their child will be using speech and listening to communicate.

Who are the HELP Mentors?
HELP Mentors will be professionals trained specifically to work with children who have hearing loss such as Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Audiologists, Speech-language Pathologists, and Early Interventionists. These professionals will be given additional training with specific tools to use when working with children and their families on listening and speaking goals.

For more information, contact Holly Kloiber, Program Coordinator.